gpsman said:
From my arm chair you only need to put back in about 50 miles.
This is 14 kWh at 3.5 miles per 1 kWh.
Optimistically, sure, with little margin. On a good day, warm not cold or hot, no wind or tailwind, new car, no construction/accident detours, no rain, and so on.
Try a stiff headwind. With a steady 20 mile per hour headwind, you would get closer to 2.5 miles per kWh. Would use about 125miles/ 2.5 kWh per mile or 50kWh for the return trip. Would want enough in the battery to do this trip with some margin, and with climate control, and with some battery conditioning allowance. Would like to start with a nearly full battery to avoid stops with such a headwind.
Higher headwinds are possible but unlikely. There are DCQCs along the route, and driving a bit slower may be an option, as traffic often slows down a little with head or cross winds, at least in my experience.
Climate control should be on the close order of 1kW to 2 kW, for 2 hours, for 2kWh to 4kWh. Not huge, not ignorable. I'd expect a similar value for battery conditioning, but my only experience with a TMS was a FFE, and not in 120F conditions, so I'm somewhat guessing here. I've not seen AC working in 120F as well, so that's why I give a wide and probably pessimistic range.
New car: Battery capacity fades with time. Chevy says "Depending on use, the battery may degrade as little as 10% to as much as 40% of capacity over the warranty period." That is "8 years or 100,000 miles" warranty period. I suspect that most cars will be closer to the 10% loss number than the 40% loss number, but some amount of loss needs to be added to the trip plan. What is the trip like when the car is no longer new? Being a pessimist, that headwind would mean that a DCQC stop on the trip would be a requirement. Would that happen once a year, or more often? Would it be OK to add a half hour to the trip home if a stiff headwind was blowing, or would that really really $%*#? OP has to answer that question, I can't.
Rain increases energy use. Hard to give a number, heavy rain is worse, standing water on the road is worse and so on.
A rule of thumb I've been talking about for years is the "No Worries Range". Take the EPA range, multiply by 0.4. As long as your commute is less than this, No Worries. Bad weather, heat, cold, rain, old car, No Worries. Very cold places, will need even more margin, use a somewhat smaller number, depending on how cold. If the commute is a little more than this, "Think About It". You might start to recharge on very bad days as the car gets older, and/or might start to get home with less margin than comfortable. If much larger, don't do it, you are likely to hate it. Sure, I am pessimistic. I think it is better to not get the car, than to get the car and hate the car.
The OP is in the Think About It range, even with a reliable L2 at the hotel. Bolt 238 miles * 0.4 is 95 miles. The good news is that he is thinking about it.
gpsman said:
12 hours or more on a regular 120 volt plug.
Would get about 12kWh into the battery. Sure, the 120V 12A is 1.44kW, but the net into the battery is about 1kW. Not quite enough, would need 14 hours.
gpsman said:
2 hours or more on a 6.6kw Level 2.
40 minutes on a 24kw DCFC Level 3.
20 minutes on a 50kw DCFC Level 3.
Would be close to enough, on a good day, or perhaps just a few minutes more.
gpsman said:
IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD THAT SMALL AMOUNT OF TIME- DO NOT BUY THE CAR!!!!
Shouting at people is usually a bad choice. The OP is trying to see how to fit using a Bolt into his life. A 125 mile one way commute is somewhat marginal. This requires rethinking habits, often not easy. I would suggest trying to reply with reason and compassion.
